“THE BEST OF ‘BOYS IN LOVE'”– seven gay shorts

“THE BEST OF BOYS IN LOVE”

(First Run Features)

Seven Gay Shorts

Amos Lassen

First Run Features has released a compilation DVD of the best of their two movie series, “Boys in Love” and it is good. It is a diverse collection of stories, styles and settings which run the gamut from very sexy and romantic to a musical comedy parody of the old movie musicals, from backgrounds of Greenwich Village to the New Zealand forest. All of the films made the festival circuit at one time or another.

“Achilles” is the first film and is the story of Achilles and Petroclus during their battles with the Trojan armies. It is wonderful. “Achilles” is made in “clay-mation” and as Achilles defends his friend he also has to face his inner demons. It is absolutely amazing to watch.

“Boot Camp” is unquestionably my favorite of the shorts as it pays tribute to the Hollywood musicals of RKO. It is filmed in the surrealistic Kenneth Anger mode and is somewhat of a cross between a leather bar fantasy and a production number in a musical comedy. What you expect to be a really rough S/M encounter turns into some of the funniest choreography you will ever see.

“Death in Venice CA” is a take off of the famous Thomas Mann homoerotic film “Death in Venice”. It stars a repressed professor who is enveloped by the charms and seductive techniques of his landlady’s son. It is a stunning piece of film but a bit too short. The actors are prefect and every detail plays into the story. Illusions to the more famous film are a treat to look for and all in all, it’s a pleasure.

“Dirty Baby Does Fire Island” is the story of a strange and bizarre journey of Dirty Baby (a rubber play doll, who washes u on the shore at the gay resort. She witnesses debauchery on this home of sex and drugs. She gets to see two muscle boys having sex and sniffing poppers (which Baby tries). This is a twisted movie that will make you laugh.

“Karen Black Like Me” is a very funny homage to the cult classic, “Trilogy of Terror” is which she was stalked by a killer voodoo doll, our hero, who is nelly and as fey as they come is stalked by a Jeff Stryker dildo.

“Twilight of the Gods, filmed in New Zealand is a sub tropical tale of a Maori warrior who helps a European soldier recover from being wounded. Shot in black and white, it looked like an old newsreel but it is a very touching film.

The least successful of the lot is SPF 2000, a take off of Italian sexploitation films. Here a day at the pond is ruined by the visit of a really ugly alien who paws his victims.

By and large, this is a very successful collection. It won’t improve your mind but it will give you great viewing pleasure.